Over the last year, ERM has led nine of the world’s leading chemical companies and two industry associations to develop the Chemical Sector SDG Roadmap, convened by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The contributors included AkzoNobel and Solvay as co-chairs, Covestro, The Dow Chemical Company, DSM, Evonik Industries AG, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, SABIC, Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited, as well as The American Chemistry Council (ACC), and The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic).

The Roadmap explores key opportunities and impact pathways for the sector, while also presenting a strong business case for action. The Roadmap also highlights the significant role that the chemical sector has to play in realizing the SDG agenda and represents an invitation for the entire sector to work together across the value chain to maximize SDG impact.

Linden Edgell, ERM’s Global Sustainability Director comments on the significance of this work: “This collaboration illustrates the true spirit of the SDGs’ aim to form unique partnerships to scale and accelerate contribution to the 2030 agenda”.

James Gomme, Director, SDGs at WBCSD commented: “Achieving the transformative ambitions of the SDGs is beyond the reach of any company in isolation. The pioneering work that has been done on the Chemical Sector Roadmap exemplifies the type of action-focused collaboration that will be instrumental in realizing the SDG agenda on the road to 2030.”

A compelling case for companies to collaborate with sector peers to develop SDG roadmaps was made in the flagship Better Business Better World report published by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission. Roadmaps will enable companies to collaborate and articulate a common approach for how their industry can maximize its potential to contribute to achieving the critical SDG agenda through business solutions. In turn, this will also help the sector to collectively strengthen its license to operate, manage operational and regulatory risks and open up new growth markets.

Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, CEO of Solvay, noted that: "The SDGs are a priority for the chemical sector and this Roadmap clearly outlines where we can simultaneously unlock significant business opportunities and contribute tremendously in delivering the SDG agenda, across the sector and through collaboration with other sectors."

ERM led the development of the WBCSD’s SDG Sector Roadmap Guidelines, published in April 2018, involving extensive technical and strategic input from our global experts with cross-sector experience in tackling SDG issues. The chemical sector is the first to pilot these guidelines and ERM is now developing two further SDG roadmaps with WBCSD member companies representing the cement and forest sectors.